3 young brothers die in Herkimer house fire

Saturday

HERKIMER — Officials recovered the bodies of three young brothers Friday following an early morning fire at 244 E. Steele St.

Herkimer fire Chief John Spanfelner said crews responded around 6 a.m. and saw flames coming from the windows on the second floor.

“There was a very heavy fire load,” he said. “... (The fire) went through the whole house very quickly.”

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the blaze, and the names of the deceased weren’t immediately available from officials.

Spanfelner said five people — two adults and three children — were on the first floor at the time of the fire. He said he didn’t know if anyone else resided there.

Both adults were alerted by smoke alarms and were able to escape by crawling out of a front window. They were treated at the scene by MOVAC.

The man was believed to be the father to all three boys; the woman the mother to the youngest child, officials said.

Spanfelner said the body of the 1-year-old boy was recovered with the help of a state police K9 unit from the room where his parents expected him to be.

At around 1 p.m., firefighters at the scene stopped what they were doing and lined up shoulder-to-shoulder as the draped body of the boy was brought to the Herkimer County coroner’s vehicle.

Later, the 6-year-old and 7-year-old boys were found.

“One was found partially into the back room,” Spanfelner said. “One made it farther back, about 15 feet from the back door.”

Spanfelner was asked during a news conference if any of his firefighters were injured during their efforts.

“Physically, they’re OK,” he said.

Spanfelner said the roof collapse onto the second floor and the bitter cold wind and freezing temperatures were among the complications that firefighters had to deal with during the blaze.

“The wind was definitely not on our side,” he said.

Ilion and Little Falls fire departments also responded to the scene. East Herkimer Fire Department was on standby at the station. State fire investigators, state police and Herkimer County District Attorney’s office also responded.

As crews worked at the scene Friday morning, all was quiet on the street, which neighbor Paul Herringshaw described as “a nice quiet neighborhood with friendly people.”

Herringshaw had just gotten home from work a little after 6 a.m. when the fire broke out.